The Wise Men

December 23, 2013

The Magi. They are also called Wise Men, those men who studied the stars and felt compelled to follow the eastern star.

They had a cause, a dream, to find this Babe of Bethlehem. When they inquired of Herod where this king was to be born, Herod's nose was royally displaced. He was not about to have his kingdom taken over by anyone. Certainly not a baby.

So he tried to trick the Magi into returning to him after they had found Jesus so he could destroy Him. But God, had bigger plans and directed the Wise Men to return home another way after they had presented their gifts to the Christ Child.

These men were educated and well to do but still ordinary people, men with a passion who were submissive to God's plan. Not only were these obedient men blessed by seeing Jesus, they were used by God to provide financial assistance to the little family and make it possible for Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt out of Herod's reach.

God wants to use us to help those less fortunate than ourselves, the poor and needy, the homeless, the sick and discouraged. He asks us to follow His example and give of ourselves to help others. We often have a long list of wants and grow inpatient when we don't get what we want when we want it. We want our children to appreciate the gifts we give and we go to great lengths to give them special things.

So it is with God. He gave everything and He too wants and deserves our appreciation. First let's give Him all of our hearts, and allow Him to show us what would make Him happy on His birthday. If we do this with a pure motive and a heart of love, we will experience real joy, sometimes called "The True Spirit of Christmas."